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Congregations should have communion statements that summarize their position on closed communion. The statement can be in bulletins, on communion cards, and read before Divine Service – wherever it will be brought to the attention of those visiting the congregation for Divine Service. The statement should briefly tell visitors that … Continue reading →

This is not a writing about a literal bird in a cage; that would be lame, unimportant, and most likely unworthy of being published. What I write today is the story of one of the single most important teaching moments that contributed to my development as a pastor. It all … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Last week we examined the Ten Commandments in light of the Advent of Christ. We know something of the Ten Commandments by nature, but we can know nothing of Christ or his work by nature. God’s … Continue reading →

The Third Sunday in Advent December 13, 2015 “John the Baptist Sends Us to Jesus” Matthew 11:2-10 Click here to listen to audio of this sermon. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and … Continue reading →

Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs. 1] Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of God, and that 2] it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to sit as judges, to judge matters by the Imperial and other existing laws, to award just punishments, … Continue reading →

Another great post found over on Gottesdienst Online: The president-emeritus of the LCMS, the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, has written a blogpost expressing his “perspective” positing that the LCMS has a culture that is unfriendly to the laity. However, the title he … Continue reading →

Many of you have observed the “Explanation of the Divine Service” pamphlets that are found in the pew racks at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville while attending a conference or event there. The Brothers of John the Steadfast have worked … Continue reading →

(This is the final post of a five part series on worship in the LCMS.) What is the future of the LCMS in the aftermath of the last two decades of worship wars within our church? I’m going to … Continue reading →

(from Mollie) Gene Veith pointed the way to a few other bloggers who have been looking at the LCMS-specific numbers coming out of that massive Pew report on religion in America: The survey found that only 84% are absolutely certain … Continue reading →

When my wife Karla and I were first married, over twenty years ago, I invited her to join me for the banquet at our annual LCMS district pastor’s conference. The food was great, but the banquet speaker was not. His … Continue reading →

“Jesus is Lord” Our Lord said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:19) What part of that do we not understand? In regard to the whole topic at hand, when it comes to … Continue reading →

This is a reposting of a pair of articles published last year on the origins of Easter and some Easter traditions. The sources are given so that the reader can better be able to debunk the popular “historical” nonsense about … Continue reading →

During my past 9 years of pastoral ministry the discussion with Evangelicals that has resulted in the most confusion, tension, and conflict is most definitely the dialog over infant baptism. Otherwise stated, in my humble opinion there is nothing more … Continue reading →

The “Best Practices for Ministry” description is brief on the convention website. “A FREE conference encouraging pastors, church workers and lay people as we reach out with the Gospel of Christ. For those who love: the local church, the unchurched, … Continue reading →

My parents did not teach my siblings and me to be hymn-Nazis. Rather, they simply taught us good hymns and good theology, and they encouraged us to keep singing good hymns and to read good theology. So for my first … Continue reading →

In The Small Catechism, Martin Luther encouraged Christians to retain the practice of making the sign of the cross. The Missouri Synod, following Luther’s advice, has encouraged Christians to continue making the sign of the cross, notably at a number of places during … Continue reading →

In this Fall’s edition of “Concordia Seminary,” the magazine of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, it is reported that the professors remind the students that “it’s more about the ‘heart’ knowledge than it is about the ‘head’ knowledge” (p. 21). This … Continue reading →

About a year ago one of my professors gave me the lecture notes of my grandfather, Robert Preus, from when he taught a course on Justification at St. Catharines back in the 80’s. According to Dr. Jackson, Preus was an … Continue reading →

Warning: this post contains sexually explicit material Pornography is wicked. So is the sinful flesh, which is why porn sells. One source reported a “conservative estimate” of U.S. pornography revenues around $8 billion in 2012. Pornography is just as damnable a sin … Continue reading →

Pastor Charles Henrickson passed along this timely summary of a report given to the synod back in 1961 when structural changes were being considered. It was written by LCMS historian August Suelflow and is summarized for us here by Dr. … Continue reading →

What I mention in this article is my opinion and thinking out loud. It was prompted by the Synod President’s comments after the same-sex marriage decision of the Supreme Court (see his interview with Issues Etc.). He stated that student … Continue reading →

Did Christianity Steal the Date of Pagan Winter Solstice Celebrations? The Roman celebration discussed in this article is the multi-day festival of Saturnalia. The Mis-Use of Roman Sources: Saturnalia In these articles we have seen the texts from the early … Continue reading →

This is a reposting of a pair of articles published last year on the origins of Easter and some Easter traditions. The sources are given so that the reader can better be able to debunk the popular “historical” nonsense about … Continue reading →

One of the many points falsely claimed in Christ Myth Theory about the supposed dependence of Christ upon the legends of Egypt is the claim that Horus was born of a virgin. The claim is utterly false. Egyptian mythology is … Continue reading →

I came across an interesting blog article written by Dr. Matthew Becker, an LCMS clergyperson serving as a professor at Valparaiso University. The article is called “The Being of Adam, the New Adam, and the Ontology of Pastors.” In it, … Continue reading →

Calling a new pastor is a great and glorious occasion. It can however be a hard time as well. Your congregation is going through a lot of things after losing its pastor. There is grief in many situations at his … Continue reading →

by Pastor Walt Otten The Brothers of John the Steadfast have asked this 1959 Concordia, St. Louis graduate to prepare a bi-monthly post for this website entitled “This Was Your Grandfather’s Church.” The editor’s instructions to me were, “Just Look … Continue reading →

My church has “forever” had communion every Sunday, but at alternate services. Early service for the 1st and 3rd Sundays, and late service for the 2nd and 4th Sundays. So people who wanted every-Sunday communion could do it by simply … Continue reading →

What is justification? For Lutherans, the central teaching of the Bible is justification by faith apart from the works of the law. The classic expression of this doctrine is found in Article IV of the Augsburg Confession, “Also they teach … Continue reading →

We are pleased to announce the videos are now available from the recent Brothers of John the Steadfast 2015 Conference held at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, IL on Feb 20-21st. Thanks to Peter Slayton for helping getting these recordings … Continue reading →

Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs. 1] Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of God, and that 2] it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to sit as judges, to judge matters by … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: Last week we ran the introduction and overview of this paper. Today we are putting the paper out there for our readers to digest and ponder. The comments from the overview article certainly revealed at least three or … Continue reading →

I have heard many people over the past decade wonder about a “Luther” for the LCMS. I don’t think it would go very well. Such a man with similar criticisms would not be received well by the LCMS at large … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note – This is a good attempt to identify the major divisions within the LCMS. These are constantly shifting and so forth and Rev. Carlson wrote this a while ago. A – Antinomian synod. N – Never-gonna-change nostalgia synod … Continue reading →

Written in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Wessler, Kantor at First Lutheran Church of Boston. Jonathan is a super awesome Lutheran organist who has a lovely wife and three wonderful children. Along with being a consummate organist, he also enjoys good … Continue reading →

Lambs at Pasture for the Rorate Coeli — The Fourth Sunday in Advent and its Answer Key are now available for download. English Version English Answer Key The repetitive nature of Lambs at Pasture aids in familiarity and memorization of key passages. … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s law is good. The commandments are good. The psalmist sings in Psalm 119, “I find delight in your commandments, which I love” (Ps. 119:47), “I … Continue reading →

The Second Sunday in Advent December 10, 2017 “Why God Gave Us the Bible” Romans 15:4-6 Click here to listen to audio of this sermon. For whatever things were written before were written for our … Continue reading →

Lutherans in Africa (LIA) is forming Africans to be teachers of the faith and to that end, we are building a new Lutheran School of Theology in the bush just outside of Nairobi, Kenya. We also continue to hold teaching … Continue reading →

Lambs at Pasture for the Gaudete — The Third Sunday in Advent and its Answer Key are now available for download. English Version English Answer Key The repetitive nature of Lambs at Pasture aids in familiarity and memorization of key passages. This … Continue reading →

THE TWENTY-THREE YEAR STORY OF CHANGE-PROMOTING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LCMS By Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland In the past week or so, congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod have been bombarded with glossy brochures criticizing the current president of synod … Continue reading →

Advent 1 Matthew 21 University Lutheran Chapel, Boulder, CO In the Name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the … Continue reading →

Lambs at Pasture for the Populus Zion and its Answer Key are now available for download. English Version English Answer Key The repetitive nature of Lambs at Pasture aids in familiarity and memorization of key passages. This is especially true when used … Continue reading →

The First Sunday in Advent December 3, 2017 “Your King Comes to You” Matthew 21:1-9 Click here to listen to audio of this sermon. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, … Continue reading →

Article XV: Of Ecclesiastical Usages. 1] Of Usages in the Church they teach that those ought to be observed which may be observed without sin, and which are profitable unto tranquillity and good order in the Church, as particular holy … Continue reading →

In my previous post (Luther at Augsburg) I described Martin Luther’s meeting with Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg in October 1518. There Luther had refused to recant his teachings on indulgences, grace, and faith unless Cajetan could convince him to do … Continue reading →

“Thanksgiving and Peace” Thanksgiving Day Sermon November 22 81, 23, 2018 Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which … Continue reading →

At the time of Luther, the practice of the Sacrament of the Altar by papists inflicted many abuses upon the laity. These included withholding the cup from the laity, selling masses, masses for the dead, and more. The greatest abuse … Continue reading →

The Last Sunday of the Church Year November 26, 2017 “Ready or Not – Jesus is Coming” Matthew 25:1-13 Click here to listen to audio of this sermon. “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be … Continue reading →

Lambs at Pasture for the Ad Te Levavi — The First Sunday in Advent and its Answer Key are now available for download. English Version English Answer Key The repetitive nature of Lambs at Pasture aids in familiarity and memorization of key … Continue reading →

Article XIV: Of Ecclesiastical Order. Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called. Only pastors are to publicly preach, teach, and administer the Sacraments. They … Continue reading →